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THE 
RHODE ISLAND LINE 

IX THE 

Continental Akmt, 

AND ITS 

SOCIETY OF OINCIKNATI; 

A PAPER READ BEFORE THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY, APRIL 30, 1878, 



ASA BIRD GARDNER, LL. IX, 

Professor of Law at the United States Military Academy, West Point, JV. Y 



PROVIDENCE: 

PROVIDENCE PRESS COMPANY, PRINTERS. 

18 78. 



THE 

RHODE ISLAND LINE 

IN THE 

CONTIJSTENTAL ABMY, 



AND ITS 



SOCIETY OF CnrciKN-ATI; 

A PAPER READ BEFORE THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY, APRIL 30, 1878, 

BY 

ASA BIRD GARDNER, LL. D., 

Professor of Law at the United States Military Academy, West Point, 1ST. Y. 



PROVIDENCE: 

PROVIDENCE PRESS COMPANY, PRINTERS. 

1878 . 



> 



\s 



Pjtfto fsImuV s $ftt0xir in % Mux fax Jfmuxrm : 



HER SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI. 



The services to the State of any particular 
body of men, provided they have redounded to 
its honor, ever deserve to be preserved in its 
annals, not only as a mark of gratitude, but as 
an incentive to future generations to emulate 
such examples. 

Of all those who have contributed towards 
the maintenance of the honor and reputation 
of this small State of Rhode Island and Provi. 
dence Plantations, none have done more in this 
direction than her Continental Line in the 
American Revolution. 

Prior to the Declaration of Independence, 
this State was known and always officially 
designated as an "English Colony," and its in- 
habitants, under its chartered government, 
claimed all those inalienable rights which be- 
longed to free born Englishmen in "settled or 
discovered" colonies in contradistinction to 
those which depended on the will of the crown, 
had they settled in "conquered or crown" col- 
onies. 

These rights which our ancestors in this State 
claimed, which they were prepared to fight for, 
and which had been firmly fixed in the English 
constitution by Magna Charta, the Petition of 
Right, the Habeas Corpus Act of Charles II., 
and the Bill of Rights of William and Mary, 
were substantially and principally : 
Freedom of speech, of religion, and of the 

press. 
No taxation without representation. 
Right to keep and bear arms. 
Right peaceably to assemble and petition the 

Government for a redress of grievances. 
Right to be secure against unreasonable searches 

and seizures, and no warrant to issue but 

upon probable cause supported by oath or 

affirmation, and particularly describing the 

place to be searched and person or thing to 

be seized. 
Right of trial by an impartial jury of peers 

from the vicinage of the alleged offense and 

only then when the crime was a capital or 

otherwise infamous one, by prior indictment 

of a local grand jury. 
Right to writ of Habeas Corpus and freedom 

from excessive bail, &c, &c. 

No community better understood their heredi- 
tary rights than this very English Colony of 
Rhode Island, and I doubt not, as a whole, they 
were even better apprised as to them than their 
fellow subjects in England. 



Their sentiments, after the commencement of 
the difficulties which led to the war for Inde- 
pendence, early found expression in 1772 in 
the daring and successful attack on and de- 
struction of the British revenue schooner 
Gaspee, of eight guns, on Namquit Point, 
Providence River. 

The leader of that expedition was Commo- 
dore Abraham Whipple, one of the origi- 
nal members of tbe Rhode Island Society of 
Cincinnati, whose great-grandson to-day 
represents him in the same Society. One of the 
participants was Colonel Ephraim Bowen, Jr., 
(known to several here present) who after- 
wards became the last President from the Con- 
tinental Line of the R. I. Cincinnati. 

His grandson to-day represents him in that 
Society. 

To me the most astonishing circumstance 
connected with the burning of the Gaspee, was 
the temper of the people of the English Colony. 

George the Third by proclamation appointed 
a Royal Commission which sat here many days 
investigating the circumstance and taking evi- 
dence, wholly without success, and yet the large 
sum of £1000 was offered for the discovery of 
the leader of the expedition (Commodore 
Whipple) and £500 for any of the participants, 
and the individuals who had compos 3d it had 
publicly and openly assembled and volunteered 
and were well known in the community. 

The Rhode Island Continental Line of the 
American Army dates the beginning of its ac- 
quisition of military knowledge from the forma, 
tion of the uniformed militia company called the 
"Kentish Guards," which was chartered by the 
Provincial General Assembly in October, 1774. 
In this organization were, among others, as its 
Captain, the Hon. Jame3 M. Varnum, subse- 
quently Brigadier General, Major General 
Nathanael Greene, and the gallant Colonel 
Christopher Greene, 1st Regiment R. I. Conti- 
nental Infantry, who was killed in May, 1781, 
at Pine's Bridge, Westchester County, N. T., 
while gallantly defending himself against an 
attack of Brig. General Oliver de Lancey's 
Loyalist Corps. 

Each of Jtheae Continental officers is to-day 
represented, by his respective descendant, 
in the R. I. Society of Cincinnati . 

No State, during the Revolution, made 
greater exertions in support of the common 
cause than this one. 



On the 8th of May, 1775, three regiments of 
Infantry and a company of Artillery were or- 
ganized by the Provincial General Assembly 
as an "j^rmy of observation" and placed under 
Brig. General Nathanael Greene with an ap- 
propriate staff. These regiments were known 
respectively as the 1st, Ccl. James M. Varnum ; 
2d, Col. Daniel Hitchcock; and 3d, Col. Thomas 
Church. 

At first there were but seven companies to 
each regiment, but on the 28th ot June, 1775, 
the General Assembly increased the number to 
ten each, except in the 3d Regiment, which had 
but nine. 

The artillery company was under Major John 
Crane, afterwards Colonel of 3d Regiment, 
Continental Corps of Artillery. 

These regiments as soon as recruited and 
equipped marched for Roxbury, Mass., to join 
the besieging forces before Boston, which held 
Lieut. Gen. Thomas Gage and the British army 
in close investment. 

The 2d and 3d Rhode Island Regiments ar- 
rived about the 28th of May, 1775, and the 1st on 
the 8th of June. 

Their term of service was until the 1st of De- 
cember, but they continued until the 1st of Jan- 
uary, 1776. 

During the battle of Bunker's Hill the Rhode 
Island brigade remained drawn up in Roxbury, 
where for some time they were under fire, dur- 
ing the shelling of that place. 

In looking at the commissions given the offi- 
cers of that contingent a certain grim humor is 
apparent on the part of the Rhode Island Gen- 
eral Assembly, as each officer, in his particular 
grade, was appointed under the great seal of 
the Colony, In "His Majesty's name, George 
the Third, by tbe Grace of God, King of Great 
Britain, &c, and authorized, empowered and 
commissioned," to do what it is quite plain the 
Defender of the Faith never intended his sub- 
jects to do, viz. : to fight against others holding 
commissions from the same authority. We 
must assume, however, that our Rhode Island 
Continentals were best authorized, because, 
under this same great seal, they were com- 
manded "in case of an invasion or assault of a 
common enemy" * * "to resist, expel, kill 
and destroy them in order to preserve the 
interest of His Majesty, and his good subjects 
in these parts" 

These regiments subsequently removed to 
Prospect Hill— before Boston— and on the 5th 
of August were declared to be a part of the 
regular Continental Army. 

On the 5th of September, General Washing- 
ton selected one captain from each of the three 
regiments and the necessary number of subal- 
terns and volunteers, to make three full com- 



panies, which were placed under Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Christopher Greene, of the 
1st Rhode Island as a portion of the 
first expeditionary battalion under Colonel 
Benedict Arnold, destined for the wonderful 
military march through the Maine wilderness 
to Point Levi and the subsequent seige of Que- 
bec. The Rev. Edwin M. Stone (of this so- 
ciety) has already, in a most interest- 
ing and instructive paper, described their 
heroic deeds and sufferings— how the second 
battalion of Arnold's corps in the wilderness 
(under Col. Roger Enos) had to turn back and 
how in the daring attack on Quebec, 31st De- 
cember, 1775, the first storming column under 
Lieut. Col. Greene, after Arnold was wounded, 
penetrated the first barrier, and being without 
supports, were subsequently, after hard fight- 
fng, nearly all taken or killed, including the 
three Rhode Island companies. 

When Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery, who 
was here killed, first inspected Lieut. Col. 
Greene's battalion, he wrote to Major Gen. 
Philip Schuyler from Heights of Abraham, 5th 
December, 1775, that he found the "corps an 
exceedingly fine one, inured to fatigue, and 
well accustomed to cannon shot, (at Cam- 
bridge)." "There is," said he, "a style oi disci- 
pline among them much superior to what I 
have been used to see this campaign." 

By the same communication, he reported that 
he had relieved the men's distress for want of 
clothing by supplying them from the surplus 
stock of the 7th and 26th Foot, which he had 
captured at Chamblee and Montreal. 

Of course the men of Lt. Col. Greene's bat- 
talion in their march through Maine, had en- 
tirely used up or ruined their clothing, and 
nothing was more eminently proper under the 
circumstances, than as the R. I. officers were 
fighting ander his Majesty's commissions, that 
the men, his "faithful subjects" should be 
clothed in his prescribed red coats. After 4th 
July, 1776, this would not have been proper 
under the laws of war. 

The R. I. Brigade, as we know, from several 
sources, went to the siege of Boston with a 
complete~outfit of camp equipage, tents, &c, 
and immediately became specially noticeable 
for [discipline, steadiness and good conduct 
under arms. The three regiments except the 
Quebec draft, remained on duty at the siege, 
until in December, when General Washington 
made arrangements to consolidate the three 
into two. This became effective on the 1st of 
January, 1776, and enough men were re-enlist- 
ed for one year to complete them. 

Col. Varnum still remained in command of 
the 1st regiment and Col. Hitchcock in com- 
mand of the 2d, but Col. Thos. Church of the 



3d, retired. The officsrs in confinement at 
Quebec continued in service, but were render- 
ed supernumerary. 

Jast before this arrangement and reduction, 
the Rhode Island General Assembly raised, on 
the 21st of November, 1775, for one year, anoth- 
er Continental regiment of infantry under Col. 
Wm. Richmond, which was known as the 4th 
regiment Rhode Island Continental Infantry, 
and after the 1st of January, 1776, upon tbe dis- 
bandment of Col. Church's regiment before 
Boston, it became the 3d. 

It never left Rhode Island until the 6th of Oc- 
tober, 1776, having meanwhile, on the 13th of 
January, 1776, had one of|its companies (Capt. 
Job Pearce's) in an affair on Prudence Island. 

When it did leave the State, it proceeded to 
New London in fifty-four whale boats (p. 1172 
2d vol. Am. Arch., 5th ser.) and thence to New 
Haven, Conn., by same conveyance, where it 
arrived 23d of October, 1776, destined for an ex- 
pedition to Long Island, but as this was aban- 
doned, the regiment returned to Rhode Island, 
and was honorably discharged the service by 
expiration of enlistment, 21st of November, 
1776. 

On the prior 18th of January, 1776, the Rhode 
Island General Assembly provided for the rais- 
ing of a fourth regiment R. I. Continental In- 
fantry for one year, under Colonel Christopher 
Lippiit. (There are no doubt several here this 
evening, who have heard the venerable John 
Howland, now deceased, so long President of 
this Historical Society, describe the movements 
of that excellent regiment in which he served 
as a private soldier.) 

Thus, for most of the year 1776, this State had 
four regiments of Continental Infantry in the 
service, viz. : Varnum's, Hitchcock's, Rich- 
mond's and Lippitt's, besides making frequent 
calls on the militia. A proportionately large 
number also entered the State navy or the Con- 
tinental navy and did good service under Esek 
Hopkins.Abraham Whipple, Hoystead Hacker, 
Jno. Paul Jones and other naval commanders. 

The siege of Boston continued until the 17th 
of March, 1776, when General Washington's ar- 
my obtained possession and on the 1st of April 
following, (General Orders, Army Headquar- 
ters, Cambridge, 29th of March, 1776,) the 1st 
and 21 Rhode Island regimentSj (Varnum's & 
Hitchcock's) were ordered to march to 
New York City. The Third Regiment (Rich- 
mond's) we have seen never went to New 
York. The Fourth Regiment (Lippitt's) did 
not go until much later in the year. 

Here the First and Second remained on duty 
until moved over to the works on Long Island, 
where they participated in the Battle of Long 



Island, 27 Aug. 1776. On the following 16 
Sept. they were again in action at Harlem 
Heights. 

Major General Greene, in writing to Gov- 
ernor Nicholas Cooke, (Fort Constitution, 11 
Oct., 1776,) of these events, said : 

"In the last action, every regiment behaved 
with a becoming spirit, especially Col. Hitch- 
cock's and Varnum's. * .* * We have many 
[officers! that are in the service deserving the 
highest applause, and have served with reputa- 
tion and honor to themselves and to the State 
that sent them; and I am happy that I have it 
to say that the Rhode Island regiments hitherto 
are amongst the number." [2d vol. Amer. 
Arch. 5 ser., p. 998.] 

Meanwhile Congress, on 3d Sept., 1776, had 
ordered the Fourth Regiment R. I. Cont'l. Inf'y. 
to join the First and Second under General 
Washington in the "Main" army. 

Accordingly Colonel Chr. Lippitt in regi- 
mental orders dated from his camp at New- 
port, 14th Sept., 1776, directed his regiment to 
march the same day to join the "main" army 
under General Washington. It did not howev- 
er arrive at Harlem Heights until after the ac- 
tion, and, on 5ih Oct., 1776, was put in a militia 
brigade of which Col. Lippitt assumed com- 
mand, (Genl. Orders, ArmyHd. Q;s., Harlem 
Heights, 5th Oct,, 1776,) but on the 14th instant 
was transferred to Brig. Genl. Alexr. Mc- 
Dougall's brigade which contained the 1st and 
3d, New York, (Late McDougall's and Col. Ru- 
dolphus Ritzema's,) 7th Conn., (Col. Chas. 
Webb's,) and 1st Maryland, (Col. Wm. Small- 
wood's) regiments Continental Infantry. 
(G. O., Army Hd. Qrs., Harlem Heights, 14th 
Oct., 1776.) 

The 1st and 2d R. I. regiments (Varnum's and 
Hitchcock's) were at this time in Brig. Genl. 
John Nixon's Brigade (Genl. Orders, Army 
Hd. Qrs., N. Y. City, 12th and 31st Aug. 1776,") 
which also contained the 2d, 6th and 12th Mass. 
regiments, (Cols. Jno. Bailey, Thos. Nixon and 
Moses Little respectively.) 

On the 15th Oct., (G. O. Army Hd. Qrs., Har- 
lem Heights, 15th Oct., 1776,) General Washing- 
ton placed Nixon's and McDougall's brigades 
under Major Genl. Charles Lee. 

While the army was retiring to White Plains 
from the 22d to the 27th of October, this divi- 
sion formed the rear guard, and during the 
movement of the 2d R.I. (Hitchcock's) was in 
the affair at "Mile Square," Westchester coun- 
ty, 26th of October. In the battle of White 
Plains, fought two days later, all three of the 
R. I. regiments were present under fire, but 
not seriously engaged. 

On the 34 of November, the 31 R. I. (Col. 
Lippitt,) was annexed to General Nixon's 



brigade and thus the threa regiments were in» 
timately associated on duty together. 

History has recorded the movements of Major 
General Charles Lee. 

His Division did not make the retreat through 
the Jersies with Washington, but remained in 
Westchester county at Crompond and near 
Peekskill until the 1st of December, when un- 
der the.pressing orders of His Excellency the 
Commander-in-Chief of the 17th of November, 
it crossed at King's Ferry, and proceeded dila 
orily towards the Delaware. It was not until 
the capture of Lee at Baskenridge by which 
the command devolved on Major-General John 
Sullivan, that the division was moved rapidly 
forward and crossed the Delaware at Easton 
on the night of the 14th and joined the main 
army at the camp above Trenton Falls, 20th of 
December. 

Brigadier General Nixon and Colonel Var- 
num, ofthelst Rhode Island, had each been 
sent home in November to expedite the recruit- 
ing service, so that the command of the brigade 
had devolved on Colonel Hitchcock. 

Two days after it joined Washington it wa3 
sent to Bristol, and fell under the orders of 
Colonel Jno. Cadwalader, who had a consider- 
able force of Pennsylvania militia with him. 

According to military law Col. Hitchcock 
could have claimed the command of the whole 
as being a regular Continental officer, but he 
patriotically waived his right, as he knew the 
militia had confidence in Cadwalader. The 
latter was not appointed a militia brigadier 
general until December 28. We learn from a 
note of General Washington's, dated from nis 
camp above Trenton Falls, the 23d of Decem- 
ber, that these Rhode Island Continentals at 
this inclement season of the year were "much 
in want of everything," and the fact is deserv- 
ing of remembrance in view of their subsequent 
conduct. 

In the projected surprise of the Hessians at 
Trenton Cadwalader's division should have 
taken an important part, but the river above 
Bristol was so full of ice that it was impossible 
to pass, and at "Dunk's Ferry" below where 
the effort was made, a few got over in the night 
of the 25th of December, but as the artillery 
could not be landed, the command returned to 
their cantonments. (3rd Vol. Am. Arch, 5 
Series, pp. 1377 and 1429.) 

Jeremiah Olney of Providence, then senior 
eaptain of the First Rhode Island and subse- 
quently Jthe distinguished colonel of his regi- 
ment to the 3d of November, 1783, said, at the 
time that the troops should have left their artil- 
lery behind. (Life of Captain Stephen Olney 
by Mrs. Williams, p. 190.) 
Had they done so the enemy would have been 



routed at all points and none would have es- 
caped. In passing, it is pleasing, while recall- 
ing Colonel Olney's gallant services, to remark 
that his great grandson, to-day represents, him 
among the R. I. Cincinnati, and also represents 
Governor Nicholas Coose, one of whose daugh- 
ters Col. Olney married'. 

On the 27th of December the brigade crossed 
to Burlington, N. J., and on the 28th was at 
Bordentown, and the next^day was at Cross- 
wix's where it remained up to and including 
the 31st of December, 1776. 

On this day the terras of enlistment expired 
of the 1st and 21 R. I. regiments, but the 4th 
R. I. (Lippitt's) had still eighteen days longer 
to serve. 

It was a most critical period in the history o f 
this Republic, and I consequently dwell upon 
it more than usually. 

Lieut. General Earl Cornwallis was rapidly 
advancing with the main portion of the British 
army, and the ability of the American army 
to exist even, was a problem to be solved, with 
everything apparently against it. 

His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief, 
(and I use the expression which his army 
ever delighted to honor him with,) sent 
Brigadier General Thomas MiflBLin to 
Crosswix to ask the Rhode Island Conti- 
nentals to remain in service another month. 
Suffering as .they were from want of proper 
food, clothing and shelter, these gallant vete- 
rans, to a man, consented, and the next eve- 
ning, 1st of January, 1777,marched for Trenton, 
where they arrived at daylight. The combat at 
Assumpsic bridge, where the brunt was borne 
by the Rhode Island Continentals (2d January) 
and the subsequent battle of Princeton (3d Jan- 
uary) where they agaia performed a principal 
part, are matters of -history. 

They formed such a choice and as to the rest 
of the army, so comparatively a large portion 
of Gen. Washington's forces, that it may be 
safely said he would have been obliged to re" 
treat and disperse through the Jersies, (as a 
safe passage across the Delaware was impossi- 
ble) had they not forgot their sufferings in love 
of country. 

When the weary troop3 filed off to the left at 
Kingston for Piuckemin and Morristown, it 
was with the pleasing consciousness that they 
had deserved well of their country. 

At the latter place, after an affair on the 
Bomuntown and New Brunswick road, in Jan- 
uary, by a detachment under Col. Lippitt, the 
brigade remained, having meanwhile lost its 
commander, Col. Hitchcock, who died at Npr- 
ristown, 13th of January, 1777, from the fa- 
tigues and exposure incident to this campaign. 

On the 1st of February the 1st and 2d R, I. 



regiments were honorably discharged from the 
service and proceeded home to recruit, and on 
the 18th of February the 4th Rhode Island fol- 
lowed. 

Meanwhile General Washington had, on the 
13th of October, from his then headquarters* 
Harlem Heights, sent a list to the Rhode Island 
General Assembly of recommendations. 
- The 1st and 2d Rhode Island Regiments were 
reorganized "tor the war," vacancies being 
filled from the|late 3d and 4th Continentals. 
Colonel Varnum of the 1st Rhode Island was 
appointed a State Brigadier and a few days la- 
ter a Continental Brigadier General, and Lieut. 
Colonel Chr. Greene, who was still a prisoner 
in Quebec, was promoted to be colonel of the 
1st Rtode Island, 1st of January, 1777; and on 
decease of Colonel Hitchcock of the 2d, Lieut. 
Col. Israel Angell became Colonel ot that Regi- 
ment. Henceforth, for several years, the regu- 
lar Rhode Island contingent consisted of two 
regiments of infantry, viz : the 1st Rhode 
Island, Col. Greene, and 21 Rhode Island, Col. 
Angell. 

Congres9 a few days before (26th of Decem- 
ber, 1776,) had authorizing the raising by the 
Commander-in-Chief of sixteen additional reg- 
iments "for the war," ana on the 1st of March, 
1777, Henry Sherburne of Newport, late Major 
i>i Col. Jno. Paterson's Massachusetts regiment, 
was appointed Colonel. This capable officer 
had been in the unfortunate affair at the Cedars, 
In Canada,*(20th of May, 1776.) where, although 
\aken prisoner, Congress found he had behaved 
gallantly. He was subsequently atTiconderoga 
and in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. 
Hi3 regiment was recruited in Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island and Connecticut, and as six of 
his officers belonged to this State, it may be 
said that Rhode Island had'two and a "third" 
regular regiments in service, besides many of 
her sons in the navy. 

The 1st and 2d R.I. Regiments remained after 
leorganization in February, 1777, on duty in 
Rhode Island until about the 20th of July, (the 
2d beirig in Coventry) when nnder Gen. Wash. 
iDgton's orders of the 2d of July, the two regi 
ments under Brig. Gen. Varnum, proceeded to 
garrison the posts in the Highlands. 

It snould be observed that the Rhode Island- 
ers who had been taken at Quebec, were pa- 
roled the preceding year ana arrived (3d Aug.) 
at Elizabethtown, N. J., in a cartel (20th Sept. 
1776), from whence they proceeded to their 
respective homes, where they remained until 
duly exchanged on the 1st of July, 1777, when 
they Immediately joined their regiments then in 
Rhode Island on the eve of their departnre for 
the Highlands. 

The 2d, under Col. Angell, was stationed at 



Peeksklll, from whence he wrote (27th of Au- 
gust) that his soldiers were without shoes and 
otherwise so poorly clad that half of them were 
unfit for duty and t&e regiment an object of de- 
rision whenever it paraded. The 1st, (Colonel 
Greene's), was on duty at Fort Montgomery. 
So great and apparently unnecessary were 
their sufferings that trie men energetically pro- 
tested against such a state of affairs and Brig. 
General Varnum came up from Peekskill to see 
about it. 

He wrote, (in Aug., 1777,) that "the naked 
situation of the troops when observed parad- 
ing for duty is sufficient to extort the tears of 
compassion from every human being. There 
are not two in five who have a shoe, stocking, 
or so much as breeches to render them de- 
cent." 

Fortunately relief was soon received and in 
September the brigade marched to Coryell's 
Ferry, on the Delaware. While the brigade 
was at Coryell's Ferry, General Washington, 
on the 7th of October, directed General Var. 
numto detach the 1st and 2d Rhode Island, 
and send them under Colonel Christopher 
Greene, the senior officer, to garrison Fort 
Mercer. Red Bank, N. J. 

Here, on the 22d of October, occurred the 
gallant defence of this work and the repulse of 
the Hessian assault under Count Donop. 

History has fully chronicled this achieve- 
ment which received the admiring applause of 
the whole army, while Congress expressed its 
sentiments by voiing Colo nel.Greene a sword. 

The conduct of Major Simeon Thayer of the 
2d Rho ! e Island (Coionel Angeil's) in the de- 
fence of Fort MiQlin, on Mud Isiand, for sev- 
eral days, against a terrific bombardment, has 
been too well sated by the Rev. Mr. Stone for 
me to venture on a repetition. 

When Fort Mercer was finally evacuated in 
November, the two Rhode Island regiments 
rejoined the brigade and united with the 
'main" army at Whitemarsh, Pa., where on 
the 5th-8ih of December they remained on the 
bleak hills awaiting the attack of Sir William 
Howe, which, afcer much manoeuvreing, he did 
not finally venture. 

From the 19th of December they were at Val- 
ley Forge in huts, but on or about the 13th of 
May, 1778, the officers of the 1st Rhode Island 
were ordered home on recruiting service, 
whilst the men were transferred to the 2d 
Rhode Isiand, Colonel Greene, and some of the 
officers went earlier. 

It was proposed to recruit the 1st principally 
from the free negroes and slaves, of whom 
there were then many in the State, and the 
Rhode Island General Assembly gave its au- 



thority on the 23d of February, 1778, but re- 
yoked it on the 10th of June following. 

Quite a number were enlisted, and did good 
service, but the regiment with its distinguished 
war record and exceptionally good officers, se- 
cured also many enlistments from the "Eng- 
lish" portion of the population. 

The 2d Rhode Ialand, Col. Angell, continued 
at Valley Forge until the 18th of June, 1778, a 
portion having been at "Barren Hill Church." 
under the Marquis de Lafayette, on the 20th of 
May. 

Marching with the main army in pursuit of 
Sir Henry Clinton, the 2d was in the battle of 
Monmouth, on the 28th of June, 1778, and was, 
with General Varnum's brigade, ordered im- 
mediately afterwards, to Rhode Island, where 
Major General Suilivan was preparing for his 
campaign before Newport, which terminated 
with tbe battle of Rhode Island on the 29th of 
August, 1778. In this action each of these 
Rhode Island regiments and also Colonel Henry 
Sherburne's participated. Lafayette character- 
ized it as one of the best fought actions of the 
war. In it, with hardly an exception, were those 
who subsequently became original members of 
the Rhode Island Society of Cincinnati. 

Lit is to be hoped by the way that the State 
authorities will take the necessary measures to 
celebrate this action in a suitable .manner. 1 

Thereafter, the three regiments just named, 
remained on duty in the State at Tiverton, Bris- 
tol, Greenwich, North Kingston and Provi- 
dence, and on resignation, 5th of March, 1779, of 
Gen. Varnum, were placed under Brig. Gen. 
Jno. Stark's command. 

On the 16th of November, 1779, the brigade 
was ordered to join tbe "Main" army. When 
it arrived at Hartford, Conn., the First Rhode 
Island ( Col. Greene's) was (on 16th of Novem- 
ber, 1779) ordered back to Newport, R. I. 

The 2d (Col. Angell's) and Col. Sherburne's 
"additional" regiment, however, proceeded 
through Danbury to Peekskill, and soon joined 
the army. 

After this thesejwo regiments were continu- 
ously with General Washington. 
: On the 15th and 16th Jan'y., 1780, the 2d R. I. 
was in the "Staten Island Expedition," under 
Major Gen. Lord Stirling, and on 7th June, 
1780, in an "affair" at "Conn. Farms." 

On the 23d June it bore the principal part of 
the combat at Springneld^against Lieut. Gen. 
Baron de Kuyphausen's forces. The regiment 
had on the ground at the bridge, only about 170 
rank and nie. 

General Washington wrote as follows (Hd. 
Qrs. Ramapaugh, 29 June, 1780) : 
"The gallant behavior of Colonel Angell's 

regiment, on the 23d mst., at Springfield, re- 



flects the highest honor upon the officers and 
men. They disputed an important pass with 
so obstinate a bravery that they lost upwards 
of forty in killed, wounded and missing before 
they gave up their ground to a vast superiority 
of force," 

On the 3d Oct., 1780, Congress decreed a con- 
solidation or incorporation of regiments and 
that thenceforth Rhode Island should be re- 
quired to have but one regiment in Continental 
service. 

Accordingly in December Lieut. Genl. Count 
de Rochambeau ordered the 1st Rhode Island 
(Col. Greene,; from Newport to West Point, 
where on 1st Jan., 1781, the 2d was incorporated 
into it, and also several of the Rhode Island 
officers and all the Rhode Island rank and file 
of Colonel Sherburne's additional regiment. 
Colonels Angell and Sherburne, being junior 
to Colonel Greene, retired as supernumeraries, 
and the same rule applied in each grade. 

On the same day the regiment was brigaded 
with the 1st and 2d New Hampshire Continental 
regiments and soon afterwards moved across 
the Hudson and was near Robinson's Mills 10th 
Feb., 1781, ana then at Crowpond. Near hare, 
at Croton river, Colonel Greene lost his life in 
May, 1781, as already noted. The Hon. Henry 
Lee in his memoirs says Washington 
heard with anguish of the death of this 
loved friend. Gen. Count de Rocham- 
beau wrote to Gov. Wm. Greene, a kinsman of 
the deceased officer, expressive of how much 
he had valued him. j 

It is proper here to remark that the Count in 
his manuscript journal praised the Rhode 
Island regiments as being the best troops ha 
had seen in this country. 

It should not be forgotten, however, that 
Massachusetts had some excellent regimenta, 
the 1st New Hampshire and 1st and 4th Con- 
necticut were also exceptionally good.as well as 
the the 1st and 2 i of the New York line, 1st, 2d 
and 3d of the New Jersey line, and 1st and 2d 
of the Maryland line. It is quite, certain that 
at the close of the Revolutionary war, under 
the inspectorate of Major General Baron de 
Steuben, the regular American Continental In- 
fantry was, in all respects, considered for Its 
members, among the best organized, disci- 
plined and drilled regiments to be found in the 
world. 

I do not speak of the Continental corps of 
artillery or cavalry, though their reputation 
stood equally high. 

But, little more remains to be said of the 
1st Rhode Island. After Colonel ©reene'a 
death, Lieut. Col. Jeremiah Olney was pro- 
moted to its command. 

Its Light Infantry Company (Capt. Stephen 



Olney) was detached in February, 1731, and 
placed in a battalion of Light Infantry under 
Lieut. Col. Gimat, in Maj., General, the Marquis 
de Lafayette's Light :JInfantry Division, and 
went south to Head of the;Elk,7Annapolis and 
thence into Virginia>nd was in the bold action 
at Jamestown Fordi(6th\July, 1781) with Brig. 
Gen. Anthony Wayne against Earl Cornwallis' 
army. 

Subsequently this company was in the van of 
the first battalion of the storming column 
which, on the night of the 14th of October, 1781, 
assaulted.and took the;British redoubt on the 
extreme right of the American lines at York- 
town, Va. 

Captain Stephen Olney's Co., with himself 
at its head, was the first to mount the parapet. 
Lieut. Col. Gimat was wounded while advanc 
ing and had to retire. 

Lieut. Col. Alex. Hamilton, who commanded 
the 2d battalion of the storming column, when 
he finally entered the work, found himself the 
ranking officer,; and made the report. 

When General Washington moved down to 
this siege from West Point, he took the 1st 
Rhodelsland with him. 

On his return march in November it was 
quartered for a time in the barracks at Phila- 
delphia, (12th of Dec, 1781- Aug., 1782.) During 
the period from September, 1781 to 18th of 
March, 1782, 106 rank and file of this gallant 
regiment had died in battle or by disease. 

Ordered in the summer of 1782 to the High- 
hinds, it was on the 28th of October, 1782, sent 
by transports from West Point to Albany, 
where it was again brigaded with the 1st and 2d 
New Hampshire Continental Infantry. 

On the 8-13th of February, 1783, tbe regiment 
participated in the severe but unsuccessful ex- 
pedition through the deep snow from Fort 
Herkimer to Fort Oswego, for which General 
Washington expressed his warmest thanks. 

On the 17th of March, 1783, under the prior 
resolution of Congress (7th of Aug. and 31st of 
Dec. 1782,) several of the 1 officers were per- 
mitted to retire and await the definitive treaty 
of peace— and on the 15th of June, 1783, (resolve 
of 23d of May, 1783,) still others- were permitted 
to go on "waiting orders" with such of the rank 
ana file as had enlisted only "for the war." 
The regiment was then at Saratoga, N. Y. 

This left but two captains, six subalterns 
and the surgeon in service, and on the 25th of 
December, 1783, the last of the 1st Regiment 
R. I. Continental Infantry, was honorably dis- 
charged, alter a continuous field service, on the 
part of many, of upwards of eight years and 
seven months. After its return home the fol- 
lowing correspondence ensued between the 
regiment and the General Assembly : 



To the Honorable the General Assembly of jihoct* 
Island and Providence Plantations: 

The officers of the line of this State beg liber - 
ty to approach this honorably assembly with 
the warmest gratitude, upon exchanging their 
military employment for the ran K of citiaens; 
the glorious object of the late controversy 
with Great Britain being happily ac- 
complished, they resume tbeir former condi- 
tions with a satisfaction peculiar to freemen. 
If they have deserved the approbation of their 
country if they have sained the confidence of 
the State; if they have endured hardships and 
encountered difficulties, they feel themselves 
still indebted, for your constant attention in 
every period of tbe war. If their conduct in the 
field ; if their wounds and the blood of their com- 
panions, who have nobly fallen by their side, 
have entitled them to any share in the laurels 
of their countrymen, they are fully rewarded in 
surrendering to your honors, upon this occa- 
sion, the standards of their corps, which have 
often been distinguished by the bravery of your 
soldiers, upon the rrlost critical and important 
occasions. They beg you will be pleased to ac- 
cept them, with tbeir most cordial acknowl- 
edgements, and be assured of the profound de- 
ference with wbich they have the honor to be, 

Your most obedient and very humble ser- 
vants, Jeremiah Olney, 
In bebalf of the Officers. 

Providence, Feb. 28, A. D. 1784. 

And a committee^having reported the follow- 
ing answer thereto, to wit : 

Gentlemen— The Governor and company, in 
General Assembly, convened with the most 
pleasing sensations, have received your affec- 
tionate and polite address. They congratulate 
you upon the happy termination of a glorious 
war and upon your return to participate with 
citizens and freemen in the blessings of peace. 
With peculiar satisfaction they recollect the 
bravery and good conduct of the officers of the 
line of this State, who, after suffering all the 
toils and fatigue of a long and bloody contest, 
covered with laurels, have reassumed domestic 
life. 

They are happy in receiving those standards 
which have been often displayed with glory and 
bravery, in the face of very powerful enemies, 
and will carefully preserve the same to com- 
memorate the achievements of so brave a corps. 

We are, gentlemen, in behalf of T>otu 
Houses of Assembly, with respect and esteem, 
your very humble servants, 

William Greene, Governor. 
William Bradford, Speaker. 

February 28, A. D. 1784. 
To the officers of this State's late Continental 

battalion. 

I have now chronicled the career of the Con- 
tinental regiments, proper, and it remains but 
to allude briefly to the R. I. State brigade, 
which, in its way, also presents such a record 
as a historian is glad to note. 

Incidentally permit me to allude to some cir- 
cumstances of the war, (to which our attention 
is directed.) which may prove interesting. In 
the first place, as to the American Generals, 
we find them constantly improving in a knowl- 
edge of the Art of War. General Washington 
for several months conducted the siege of Bos- 
ton before he perceived that, by fortifying Dor- 
chester Heights the British must evacuate. 






Napoleon afterwards, at the siege of Toulon, 
imitaed the same movement, which added to 
his military reputation. The battle of Long 
Island, in defence of the city of New York, was 
a political necessity, but the action at Harlem 
Heights and battle of White Plains, was each a 
military one. The retreat through the Jersies 
was a choice of evils, but in the assault at Tren- 
ton and general military combinations incident 
thereto, we see Washington developing into a 
great general. His return to Trenton was a 
mistake, but he extricated himself from 
it as he did in the retreat from Long 
Island, in a manner to deserve applause. 
His filing off at Kingston bridge and taking 
post at Morristown, after the battle of Prince- 
ton, compelled the enemy to evacuate Jersey, 
except Elizabetutown and New Bruns- 
wick, and was a correct move. He fought the 
battle of Brandy wine, in defence of Philadel- 
phia, as a political necessity, and the battle of 
Germanlown as a military one,— and would 
have succeeded in the battle but for unfortuit- 
ous circumstances attending a dense and un- 
expected fog. When he sat down at Valley 
Forge, he cooped up the Biitish in Philadel- 
phia, and the subsequent battle of Monmouth, 
as well as his later movements in New Jersey 
and in the Highlands, and advance to the 
siege of Yorktown, all displayed generalship of 
superior order. 

In the same manner his friend, Major Gen. 
Greene, displayed unusual military capacity, 
for after the battle of Guilford Court House, in 
Virginia, instead of pursuing Earl Cornwallis 
to Wilmington, N. C, he turned on" to South 
Carolina, and in the short space of two 
months, by his military combinations and 
movements, divested the enemy of all their 
posts other than those on the sea coast, with 
a rapidity almost marvellous. 

The British, on the other hand, made many 
military mistakes. 

When they arranged, in 1777 for Lieutenant 
Jno. Burgoyne to come down from Canada via 
the Hudson river, and at the same time sent the 
major part of tne forces in New York around 
to the Head of the Elk for a movement on Phil- 
adelphia, they committed an error which lost 
them a continent. 

By the same fatality they became possessed 
with the idea of holding this little State, and 
unmindful of tne stake for which they were 
playing, employed an army of from 7000 to 12,- 
000 men and a fleet in this endeavor, from the 
8th of December, 1776, to the 25th of October, 
1779, until they perceived that this army and 
fleet were thus rendered useless for the great 
purposes for which the war was being con- 
ducted. 



Their presence, however, necessitated cor- 
responding exertions on the part of this State. 
At times every able bodied man of the militia 
was in service, which is a wonderful instance 
of determination and energy. 

In order to protect upwards of a hundred 
miles of sea coast, the Rhode Island General 
Assembly, on the 12th of December, 1776, pro- 
vided for the raising of a Rhode Island State 
Brigade of three regiments, viz : two of infan- 
try, and one of Artillery, under Brigadier Gen- 
eral James M. Varnum, who was on transfer to 
the Continental service succeeded by Ezekiel 
Cornell, an excellent officer and strict discipli- 
narian, who, when Lieut. Col. of the 1st regi- 
ment Rhode Island Continentals, went by the 
nickname of "Old Snarl." 

This brigade was raised for fifteen months 
service "for the defence of the United States in 
general and of this State in particular." 

Before the termination of its service, 16th of 
March, 1778, the General Assembly provided 
(9th of February, 1778) for lt3 continuance 
another year and re-enlistments, and again 
before its termination of service on the 16th of 
March, 1779, it was continued for another year 
by the General Assembly, (22d of February, 
1779), but as the soldiers were reluctant to re- 
enlist in sufficient numbers to complete the 
two infantry regiments, they were on the 16th 
of June, 1779, incorporated and the junior offi- 
cers retired. 

The 1st regiment infantry, Rhode Island 
State brigade had for its Colonels successively : 

First, Col. Joseph Stanton, Jr., 12th of Decem- 
ber, 1776, to 10th of November, 1777, when he re- 
signed. 

Second, Col. Wm. Barton, 10th of November, 

1777, to 9th of February, 1778, when appointed 
Colonel of the Continental Line. 

Third Col. John Topham, 9th of February, 

1778, until honorabiy discharged with remain- 
der of his regiment, 6th of May, 1780. 

This regiment was in the Battle of Rhode 
Is'and, and during its service on duty at Tiver- 
ton, Bristol, Greenwich and other exposed sta- 
tions. 

The Second Regiment, infantry, Rhode Island 
State Brigade had lor its Coionels successively : 

First Colonel, John Cooke, 12th of December, 
1776, to 16th of June, 1777, when he resigned. 

Second Colonel, Archibald Crary, 16th of 
June, 1777, to 7th of May, 1779, when he re- 
signed, as he could not support his family on 
his depreciated pay. 

The regiment was on the following month 
(16th of June) incorporated with the First Reg- 
iment (Col. Jno. Topham). 

It was in the affair with the British ship -or 
war at Fogland Ferry, 10th of January, 1777, 



10 



and in the campaign before Newport under 
Major Gen. Jno. Sullivan which terminated 
in the Battle of Rhode Island. 

During its service it was stationed at various 
exposed points throughout the State. 

The regiment of artillery, Rhode Island State 
Brigade, had for its Colonel Robert Elliott, who 
commanded it continuously (from the 12th of 
December, 1776,) until honorably discharged 
with his regiment on the 1st of June, 1780. 

It was in the affair with the 50-gun ship "Re- 
nown," off Dutch Island, on the 21 of August, 
1777, and in the campaign under Major General 
Jno. Sullivan, before Newport, which termin 
ated with the battle of Rhode Island. 

Like the other regiments ot the brigade, it 
was stationed in detachments, during its ser« 
vice, at various exposed points. 

When the 1st and 2d Infantry Regiments of 
the brigade were incorporated, a corps of Rhode 
Island Light Infantry of four companies was 
raised, (16th of June, 1779,) with the approval 
of Congress, (IX Vol. R. I. Cel. Records, p. 
204,) destined to be commanded by Colonel 
William Barton. 

It continued in service until finally honorably 
discharged, on the 21th of July, 1780, and was 
©n dnty at Providence, Pawtucket and else- 
where. These regiments of the brigade and 
corps of li?ht infantry were all on the Conti- 
nental establishment and in Continental pay> 
although the service was in point of fact local. 
(Resoluticms of Congress of the 15th of. Febru- 
ary, 1777, and 4th of May, 1779.) Many of the&offi- 
cers had previously served in the regular Con- 
tinental line and some transferred to it. 

I have now sketched the history of all Rhode 
Island's regular forces during the Revolution. 
It will be perceived that in the way of men she 
distinguished herself by disproportionate exer- 
tions. In the way of material aid to 
the common cause her efforts were remarkable. 
Up to the 3d of May, 1780, which was five years 
after the commencement of the Revolution, 
•'this State had" (according to exLt.-Governor 
Samuel Greene Arnold,") "already loaned to 
the Continent more money than all the States 
south of Pennsylvania combined." (Second 
Volume History of Rhode Island, page 456.) 

It was the peculiar good fortune of the Rhode 
Island forces to be more intimately associated 
with the French allies than any other American 
troops. This was due to the fact that the army 
under Lieut. Gen. Count de Rochambeau was 
for so considerable a period stationed in this 
State, both before and after the siege and cap- 
ture of Yorktown. 

The Marquis de Lafayette alluded to this cir- 
cumstance in his reply to the address of the 



Rhode Island General Assembly. (26th of Oc 
ber, 1784.) Said he: 

"During our contest for liberty, when my 
nation so heartily joined her sovereign in 
the noble concerns, it hath been the lot of the 
French army and navy to receive particular 
favors in this State; for which they entertain 
an affectionate sense of gratitude." (X vol. R. 
I. Col. Rec. p. 68.) 

A mutual respect had been early engendered 
as is apparent from the communcation to Gov- 
ernor Wm. Greene, of the Chevalier de La 
Luzerne, French Minister Plenipotentiary— 
(10th of January, 1783), in which he said: 
"The King * * [Louis xvi.] charges me * * 
to assure the citizens and inhabitants of the 
State of Rhode Island of his affection, and of 
the particular interest he shall ever take in 
their prosperity." 

Just before the Revolutionary war ended, a 
Convention of the American Army was held at 
the cantonment, near Newburgh, in May and 
June, 1783, by which the "Society of Cincin- 
nati" was founded, and in each of the thirteen 
or'ginal States a State society was provided 
for, and in the following year one in France. 

The Rhode Island State Society after a pre- 
liminary meeting among the 1st R. I. Regi- 
ment officers at Saratoga, in June (24th) , for- 
mally organized at the State House in this city, 
with Major-General Nathanael Greene as Presi- 
dent, on the 17th of December, 1783. 

Four years ago, the Hon. Amos Perry, Sec- 
retary of this Society, (7th of April, 1874,) read 
a paper on the history of this honorable asso- 
ciation, since published in its proceedings, to 
which I must refer you for matters not herein 
alluded to. 

The roll shows the names of Jeventy-four 
commissioned officers of the Contu ental Army, 
all of whom to their respective deaths, re- 
mained respectable members of the communi- 
ty and very many of whom occupied the most 
important civil stations in the commonwealth. 
The halls of Congress and of the General As- 
sembly often received its members as repre- 
sentatives. 

With the exception of the annual meetings of 
1784, 1786 and 1790 which were held in East 
Greenwich, all the meetings have been held in 
the State House either at Providence or New- 
port, although in the latter city three meetings 
were held (1810, 1813 and 1816) in the office of 
Lieut. Robert Rogers, A. M. 

These annual meetings have been always 
held on the 4th of July and, following the inva- 
riable custom of the other State societies, have 
been followed by a dinner, to which persons of 
distinction have occasionally been invited to 
participate, "in commemoration of the Revolu- 



11 



tionary contest for Independence and the ser- 
vices of the .Regular Continental Line and 
Staff of the American Army and Navy, and of 
their Allies during that war." 

Hardly had the Society been formed before it 
met with strenuous opposition from many 
civilians, chiefly on account of the provision of 
the General Institution which made the mem- 
bership hereditary. Chief Justice Aldamus 
Burke of South Carolina wrote against it as 
creating a "race of hereditary patricians or 
nobility." 

Count de Mirabeau, whose brother, Col. 
Boniface Requetti, Viscount de Mirabeau, was 
a member in France, also wrote against it. 
The General Court of Massachusetts, by joint 
resolutiop (23d of March, 1784) declared the 
Society "unjustifiable and if not properly dis- 
countenanced dangerous to the peace, liberty 
and safety of the United States." 

It is needless to say that time proved these 
objections unfounded, and in 1806 Massachu- 
setts incorporated its State Society. 

Even Benjamin Franklin, in writing to his 
daughter from Passy, France, (26th of Janu- 
ary, 1784,) objected to it and made quiet fun of 
the bald eagle which had been assumed as the 
badge of the Order,for he characterized it "as a 
bird of bad moral character who does not get 
his living honestly * * generally poor and often 
very lousy." 

However it is proper to add that when this 
respected statesman was in 1789 elected by the 
Pennsylvania State Society an honorary mem- 
ber, with an absolute change of views, he was 
much pleased to receive the distinction. 

His „ colleague, Chief Justice Thomas Mc- 
Kean of Pennsylvania, valued his honorary 
membership so highly, that when he sat for 
his portrait, the only relief to the severe black 
of his dress is found in the ribband and eagle 
of the order, conspicuously displayed. 

That ribband, it should be observed, is deep 
blue watered and edgel with white, typical of 
the then union of France and America. 

In deference to the pronounced objections 
against the hereditary principle, the General 
Society recommended in May, 1784, an amend- 
ment of the General Institution discontinuing 
it, and on the 4th of July the Rhode Island So- 
ciety concurred, but subsequently rescinded 
its consent in 1786, (9th of October,) and again 
in 1792, 1798 and 1800 declared its adherence to 
the original Institution, which, in consequence 
of the amendment not having been concurred 
in, remains as originally settled in 1783. 

It is not to be wondered at that the original 
members desired to perpetuate the Society 
when we look at the noble principles enunci- 
ated as its basis. 



The following is the "Institution" of the 
Cincinnati : 

"It having pleased the Supreme Governor of 
the Universe, in the disposition of human af- 
faire, to cause the separation of the Colonies of 
North America from the Domination of Great 
Britain, and, after a bloody conflict of eight 
years to establish them free, independent and 
sovereign states, connected by alliances found- 
ed on reciprocal advantage with some of the 
great princes and powers of the earth. 

To perpetuate, therefore, as well the re- 
membrance of this vast event, as the mutual 
friendships which have been formed under the 
pressure of common danger, and in many in- 
stances cemented by the blood of the parties, 
the officers of the American Army do hereby, 
in the most solemn manner, associate, consti- 
tute and combine themselves into one Society 
of Fkiends, to endure as long as they shall 
endure, or any of their eldest male posterity, 
and in failure thereof, the collateral branches 
who may be judged worthy of becoming its 
Supporters and Members. 

The officers of the American Army, having 
generally been taken from the Citizens of 
America, possess high veneration for the char- 
acter of that illustrious Roman, Lucius Quinti- 
us Cincinnatus; and being resolved to follow 
his example by returning to their citizenship, 
they think they may with propriety denominate 
themselves : 

The Society op the Cincinnati. 

The following principles shall be immutable 
and form the basis of the Society of the Cincin-. 
nati : 

An incessant attention to preserve inviolate 
those exalted rights and liberties of human 
nature for which they have fought and bled, 
and without which the high rank of a rational 
being is a curse instead of a blessing : 

An unalterable determination to promote 
and cherish between the respective states, that 
Union and National honor so essentially neces- 
sary to their happiness and the future dignity 
of the American empire : 

To render permanent the cordial affection 
subsisting among the officers. This spirit will 
dictate brotherly kindness in all things, and 
particularly, extend to the most substantial 
acts of beneficence, according to the ability of 
the Society, towards those officers and their 
families, who unfortunately may be under the 
necessity of receiving it." 

The Society in this State continued in sue- v 
ceseful existence for many years and num- 
bered among its original members Chief Jus- 
tice Daniel Lyman, whose son to-day repre- 
sents him, and Governor William Jones, each 



12 



of whom are no doubt recollected by several 
who hear me. 

At the annual meeting in the State House, 
Providence, 4 July, 1835, and subsequent com- 
memorative dinner tbere were present besides 
others,— of the original members of the Revolu- 
tion,— only Col. the Hon. Ephraim Bowen, Jr., 
Lieut. Thomas Coles, Captain Samuel Snow and 
Captain Daniel Singer Dexter. 

The few remaining original members were 
unable to be present. 

This was the last meeting which any of 
them could attend. The Society had voted to 
meet again on 4 July, 1836, but before that time 
several of the original members had passed 
away and the survivors were too feeble to be 
present. 

Of the hereditary members, some moved to 
New York and joined that State society, others 
were at a distance, at sea or sick, and a meet- 
ing, as required by the act of incorporation 
from the Stxte, (of the 28th of February, 1814,) 
was not possible. Those who were hereditar- 
ily entitled to membership consequently could 
not claim it. 

In 1877, in consequence of a petition present- 
ed to the Rhode Island General Assembly by 
several gentlemen to secure an act for pre- 
serving and utilizing the society's funds and 
effects, some of the hereditarily entitled mem- 
bers came together and extensively published 
a call for a meet n? to be held in the ancient 
place of assemblage, the State House, Provi- 
dence. 

Every effort was made to secure the presence 
of all entitled to participate. 

At 12 m. on the 12th of December last, the 
members met and appointed a committee to 
carefully investigate the claims of all present 
as participants, not only as to being each the 
eldest lineal descendant at common law of an 
original member, but also as to being 
"worthy." 

After full report, r which was unanimously 
agreed to, prayer was then offered by the Rev. 



J. Gardiner Vose, D. D. of the Massachusetts 
Society of the Cincinnati, and the Old Society, 
whose members had heretofore reflected so 
much credit on the State, was again re-institu- 
ted, w.th the Hon. Nathanael Greene, M. D„ as 
its eighth President. I should here remark 
that through the care of its last previous Secre- 
tary, Thomas Coles Hoppin, Eaq., its records 
and archives remain intact and its funds in 
good condition. 

On the 26th March, 1878, the General Assembly 
confirmed the Society in all its original char- 
tered and corporate rights ana privileges. Its 
officers are : 

Hon. Nathanael Greene, M. D., President, 
Newport, representative of Maj. Gen. Nathl. 
Greene. 

Hon. Simon Henry Greene, Vice President, 
River Point, representative of Col. Christopher 
Greene, his grandfather, and Lieut. Job 
Greene, his father. 

Henry E. Turner, M. D., Secretary, New 
port, representative of Surgeon Peter Turner. 

Asa Bird Gardner. L. L. D., Assistant Secre- 
tary, West Point, New York, representative of 
First Lieut. Jona. Willard. 

Saml. Chace Blodget, Esq., Treasurer, Provi- 
dence, representative of Maj. Wm. Blodget. 

David King, A. B. M. D., Assslsant Treas- 
urer, Newport, representative of Captatn Zebu- 
lumKing. 

Delegates to the next triennial meeting of the 
General Society at Philadelphia, 22d of May, 
1878: Hon. Nathanael Greene, Hon. James M. 
Clarke, Dr. David King, Prof. Asa Bird 
Gardner, James M. Varnum. Esq. 

In the direction of its public effort, the old 
society now claims kinship to this most worthy 
society which has done so much to illustrate 
the services of Rhode Island's eminent men , 
and to put in enduring shape the records of her 
noteworthy achievements. 

I have now completed my pleasing task and 
have but to thank you for your patient atten- 
tion. 



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